Market Prices 575 Manual vs 575 F1 (conversion costs) vs 550?

I simultaneously owned a Testarossa, F512M, 550 and 575 FHP manual. The difference (improvement) between the Testa and the F512M was significant, between the 550 and 575 less significant but still notable.

575 didn't feel like a different model completely, like a 599, but did feel like what it was, a significantly upgraded version of the same model. For me the steering and handling and refinement are big pluses for the 575 though maybe marginal Often seemingly overlooked is the engine difference which is not marginal. 575 has much more punch at all revs, I prefer exterior looks of 550, and a certain rawness in the driving of 550. Interior of 575 is a big step up.

 

575 interior does look more refined generally speaking. However, I feel the carbon sport seats on the 550 are better looking, but I'm biased . And if you got a 550 with Connolly leather, it should be noticeably granier than Poltrona Frau leather. Just a manlier rough around the edge appearance of the 550 interior that screams 90's to me. The distinct Connolly aroma adds to that experience.

 

Pretty much the same carbon seats were available on the 575M.


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Different design. No silver plastic looking bits for the belt hoops and sides. More masculine look in the 550 carbon seats.


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CF seats are the one missing option I wish I had in my 575. I would be happy with either version!

 

More masculine? Just the standard 550 cushion pattern on the seats. The 575M racing seats had a unique pattern not seen on the standard or Daytona cushion pattern. The seat belt guides likely happened after the belts started wearing the leather.

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Race seats in my F512M and in my now sold manual 430 coupe. I liked them in the 512, but not in the 430 where as Taz says compared to the normal seats they felt too basic. I prefer the Daytonas in my gated 430 Spider. I like the Daytonas in my 575..interesting about Connolly vs Poltrona Frau. I am no leather expert, interested to know more.
Minutiae of race seats aside, 575 interior feels classier than 550, although you could say the 550 is a purer design inside.

 

A 550/575 has so much torque, you can drive a stick in third around town. My impression of the F1 was it works best when you get on it, pow, pow, pow. Problem is by the third pow, you are going over 120 mph.

I cut my teeth as a lad on motorcycles. I shift by sound (and on those old Brit bikes by vibration). I don’t even pay attention to what gear I’m in. If the car needs shifting, I shift. On my old 550, I’d start in first, do a measured shift to second, and then third. I’m now doing 90. Not a good idea on city streets. So I started short shifting.

Even on the track, I recall rowing fourth and fifth with an occasional third in tight corners, but the Shark did not like tight corners. Long sweepers were its thing.

The brakes sucked, though. A Maranello is a heavy car. I’d be coming up on a hard 90 degree turn with concrete bumpers in the runoff. I could feel the brakes doing the dirty ABS boogie as my eyeballs got wider and wider.

Great car, once you understood it is a GT not a sports car. I did 500+ miles on many a Sunday.


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FHP brakes worked much better, but they squealed until fully bedded, then only rarely. Only required a pad change. Mine has ceramics, so way more braking power.

 

I'm considering buying a car and evaluating whether I should look for one with ceramic brakes or just get the more available steel brakes. What I'm hearing is ceramic brakes don't reduce braking distance. Their advantage is less or very little fading under heavy (track) braking, less brake dust on the wheels, and less wear such that rotors don't need replacing for 100k+ miles under normal street use. On the down side their temperature needs to be raised before they can operate normally. Is that consistent with your experience?

 

Having factory HGTC brakes I would agree with most the comments. However unless you are pushing hard there has not been any noticeable need for heat for normal driving. And they grab much harder than standard brakes. Have not put a measuring tape to them but you would be hard pressed to convince me that they don’t stop in a shorter distance. The looks are tough to beat as is the dust factor which is negligible.
Somewhere on this site in my album I have documented the weight differences of the components of the HGTC brakes.
Bill
FL

 

r- No, totally different with my Mov'It brakes. Work fine when cold, no brake dust, no squeal, and more braking power with pads that are way larger than even the CCM pads. Ultimate limit on braking power is tires, of course. Problem is mine was a custom set no longer listed by the company and the cost was around $20k several years ago. Like Bill noted, a drop in unsprung weight, too, and the transforms for the CER rotors last even longer than the CCMs, even on track.

Bill effectively has HGTC brakes now, including the front underbody with hose inlets, upper A arms with hose brackets, and brake cooling hoses.

Finding any Maranello with ceramic brakes is difficult, mostly just HGTC 575Ms and very few brake hot rods like Bill's and mine.

 

Carbon definitely reduce braking distance. You will have to build a fairly aggressive iron rotor based brake system to compete with an OE carbon system.

 

yup. mine loved Road Atlanta... plenty of time for the brakes to cool. hated Barber...

 

There's a nice 550 on BaT @ $145k with 4 days to go.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-ferrari-550-maranello-7/

 

Carbon Fiber was pretty rare on 550s.

 

There was some earlier discussion of the CF trim that the seller was not definitive about whether it is factory original or added later. I think it is likely factory as the instrument trim would be a little more involved to add.

 

Needs some Barchetta wheels

 

Yes those would be nice. I prefer the 575 modulars which are as expensive and hard to find. Bang:Buck ratio may not be so high though. For much less, rear HE spacers would be inexpensive visual improvement too.

 

Hi, I just registered myself here so I could reply on this topic. Having done many vehicle conversions over the years including an 86’ defender 110 stick 4 cylinder right hand drive to left hand drive v8 I put a value on the time and unknown factor on this 575m of about double the cost of the conversion. That coupled with the mint condition led me to believe I had a winner. I received the car few days before Christmas and can honestly say it has been a sensational experience thus far. The ride quality and shifting is silky smooth. The only complaint would be the suspension alert light due to the novitech conversion. Otherwise the tubi purrs perfectly. Compared to my Lamborghini lp610 spyder I can actually drive this thing without pissing off other drivers. I never intend to sell it and in my mind I bought a gated mint 575m for half price. The big jump in the bid was a guess on where I thought it landed in value and also to potentially avoid a 3 hours 1,000 tit for tat. I had seriously considered buying a 512tr but ultimately fell on the 575m for its userability while maintaining that extraordinary analog experience. If anyone has a gated f430 06/07 spider YELLOW only I am in the market.

 

Welcome @jcaspi1979 and congratulations on the purchase of your lovely car. I can understand your up bid. Sometimes it scares away the on-the-fence bidders. It worked well once for me. I'm considering converting my auto e24 to 5-spd manual. Only thing stopping me is the original transmission shifts up and down so crisply and smoothly I feel it would be a shame to throw away a perfectly working transmission.

 

Eric- I thought the auction result was justified by the car's service records, recent belt etc. service, color combo (personal taste), carbon trim. Mileage is on the high side but considering the committed ownership I thought the higher mileage is axtually a positive for a driver car. For inexplicable reason the 550/575 pricing continue to lag the US market for other exotic/sports cars. The car is a solid 2.5 on the Hagerty scale which places it in the middle of the $155k - $220k range. A 993 C2S brought over $200k on the same day. Love the 993s but come on. I think what the car sold for ($174k) is in line with Hagerty's and today's market valuations.